


Self Love

by CATSINTHEWASTELAND



Category: The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-31
Updated: 2017-01-31
Packaged: 2018-09-21 05:55:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9534704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CATSINTHEWASTELAND/pseuds/CATSINTHEWASTELAND
Summary: Zelda and Sheik, with and without each other.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kiyala](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiyala/gifts).
  * In response to a prompt by [kiyala](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiyala/pseuds/kiyala) in the [selfcestfest](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/selfcestfest) collection. 



> **Prompt:**
> 
> I don't mind how you approach this, whether you make them two separate entities, or if they're magically occupying two different bodies. I would like an exploration of the differences between Zelda as a person and who Sheik needed to be during the time Ganondorf was in power, and the way they deal with it afterwards.

In the beginning, seven years before, when she was just Zelda and only Zelda, Sheik little more than an idea, a future project, sometimes when she slept her other self would visit her in her dreams. Back then, Sheik was not fully formed, merely a shadow of what they would become, but it never concerned Zelda. It was good to have a companion, one of her own age, even if they only visited her in her dreams.

Though Zelda had Impa to protect her in those early days of Ganondorf’s rule she did not have any other friends to relate to, and perhaps it was this that spurred her along to know Sheik better. An imaginary friend, others may have said given the chance, but Zelda drew strength from Sheik, let them fuel her through Impa's challenging training. They grew together, and over time Sheik became more and more solidified in Zelda's mind. Another version of her, almost another person it felt like, though one who shared Zelda's body. There were no secrets between them, what Zelda knew Sheik knew, and what Sheik knew Zelda knew. For Zelda, there was nobody she trusted more than Sheik during those years. Perhaps this was self centered, but she knew her abilities and she knew Sheik's abilities. Sheik was necessary for Zelda's survival.

Zelda may have been a target for Ganondorf, but Sheik was not. Being the Princess was dangerous as Ganondorf tightened his hold on Hyrule, and ever increasingly, Zelda would be Sheik instead, granting her a whole new life. Whatever dangers awaited Zelda, Sheik would overcome or evade them, able to navigate safely. Sheik was many things to Zelda: a disguise, a shield, freedom. 

When the call came that the Hero of Time was awakening, Zelda's mind was already made up. Already finding smaller ways to assist her people, Zelda would focus her efforts on guiding the Hero of Time. This time though, she would become Sheik permanently, hiding her real identity away for a much longer period of time. It would be Sheik who the Hero of Time would know, who he could rely on for help. This did not bother Zelda in the slightest. She knew what was the best way to be of help in this time. Zelda did not possess the abilities to be truly of use, but Sheik did.

\----

Sheik was invaluable. Even as modest as they were, they knew that. There were few others who had the knowledge, the training that Sheik had, and Sheik had the ability to apply those exactly where needed.

It was not difficult for Sheik to act as though they had never met the Hero of Time before, because they truly hadn't. Sheik and Zelda may have shared memories and experiences, but this was different now. Link had no idea who Sheik was, no reason to really trust them, and Sheik needed to work hard to be both trustworthy and distant. Zelda would have been infinitely more trustworthy, a familiar face, a beacon of hope, but Zelda would have been in unnecessary danger. Who knew how far Ganondorf’s influence reached. Sheik gladly took Zelda's place.

Link perhaps was far too trusting, but for this Sheik was glad. It made their job easier if Link was willing to listen to their advice, using it to journey through the Temples, defeating Ganondorf’s minions and slowly reversing the effects of his dark magic. Sheik knew that perhaps Zelda could have combated such magic with her own, but overcoming the Temples trials were much more suited to Link. Link had his own ways of defeating evil.

Whilst Link awoke the Sages, Sheik travelled Hyrule, setting things in motion to aid Link later in his quest. In Zora's Domain, Sheik recovered Princess Ruto before Ganondorf’s curse encased her in ice along with the rest of her home and it's inhabitants. Ruto thanked Sheik before quickly announcing that she must leave to journey to the Water Temple, to combat the evil there, realising that there was nothing she could do for Zora’s Domain itself whilst Ganondorf’s evil remained in the Temple.

Sheik would have been shocked by such a rapid decision had they not remembered Ruto from years before - Zelda’s memories, from well before Zelda had met Link, before Ganondorf had visited Hyrule Castle. Though Ruto had grown, she still retained the same impulsiveness and stubbornness from her childhood. Sheik remembered Zelda having to attend formal gatherings and being pulled away from them by the young Zora Princess. The two of them had played games for hours, made friends quickly, despite the differences in their personality. Perhaps, Sheik thought, they were not so different, both of them deciding to face danger now that it was here in Hyrule. Ruto would never realise this, Sheik knew. She would not know that Sheik was Zelda and Sheik was not about to reveal such a secret. The less others knew, the safer Zelda was. Sheik could work unhindered.

And so it continued, Sheik providing Link with the knowledge he required, and Link vanquishing evil. Link never faltered, and the Sages were awoken one by one. With each victory it brought them closer to defeating Ganondorf, and also, Sheik knew, closer to Zelda being revealed and Sheik returning to the shadows.

\----

Afterwards, with Ganondorf sealed away, Zelda knew she would not have the opportunity to disguise herself as Sheik for much longer. After the celebrations reality set in. Hyrule needed to heal and be rebuilt. Sheik may have been needed during Ganondorf’s reign, but now it was Zelda who was needed. The people of Hyrule needed their leader, somebody who they could look up to to inspire hope, to help them return things to how they were. Deep down, Zelda knew this person was Link, but Link was no longer there to aid her.

It was difficult at first to be visible so suddenly after being hidden away for so long. Zelda had responsibility and expectations placed upon her in a way she always knew she would gain as a child, but had been so free of as Sheik. Sheik had no responsibilities, only the ones they had placed upon themselves willingly. Zelda almost wished she could return to the safety of being Sheik and still help in the way that was needed, but Sheik did not inspire the people like the return of the Princess did. Zelda had to use that to spur Hyrule along.

Zelda was not alone, of course. There were the rest of the Sages to support her. With Ganondorf gone they returned to Hyrule and Zelda knew she could rely upon them. Impa, as always, remained by her side, whilst the others went back to their homes. With the network of Sages it was far easier to wipe out the remains of Ganondorf’s followers. Nabooru especially seemed intent on making sure there were none left, and though Zelda knew little of her, she knew the new Gerudo leader would be an ally.

The people across Hyrule celebrated them all: the Hero of Time, the Princess, and the Sages. Yet Zelda knew so much could not have been achieved without Sheik. It should have been silly to be picky about this when truly Zelda and Sheik were the same, but none bar Impa and Link had known the secret of their identities. Zelda wanted Sheik to be recognised alongside the rest, but it seemed Sheik had already faded into obscurity. Only Zelda was there to remember Sheik.

As time passed and Hyrule prospered in the peace, Zelda found herself missing the other part of herself. Sheik was no longer with her. It was almost as though her other self had appeared only in a time of need, when Zelda was required to be somebody other than Zelda. Logically, with the wisdom the Tri-Force had seen in her, she knew that her time as Sheik had passed. There was peace in the land, and Sheik had been gifted to her when evil had taken over. There was no great reason for Zelda to be Sheik now, it would only be for selfish reasons, to put Zelda at ease and give her her closest companion back. The people of Hyrule did not need a leader who was selfish. This was what Zelda told herself at least, but it was difficult to ignore the absence of part of who she was.

\----

Peace in Hyrule did not mean that nothing unusual ever happened, especially after such evil had been in the land. Though Zelda and the Sages were ever vigilant making sure that no evil magic was left unchecked in the land, on some occasions magic of unknown sources was discovered. It was well known that Zelda was an accomplished mage, and this had only increased after Ganondorf’s defeat. She sought to know all she could about magic. Those who knew her would say it was her thirst for knowledge, the more she knew the more effectively she was able to rule. Zelda knew she was looking for something specific, though she would never admit this to others. The only one she would confess to was the one who would understand entirely, though this was moot as they were gone and also the reason for her search.

Her growing magical ability had created Sheik when she was so much younger, she was sure of it, and now she hoped it would bring them back. She had discovered so much, and yet nothing so far had been met with success. Though there had been much failure Zelda had not been discouraged. She was sure that somewhere there was something that would return Sheik to her. Zelda may have initially tried to convince herself that Sheik was no longer needed, but she slowly realised this was not the case. To be a good leader she needed both sides of her, Zelda and Sheik working together. Deep down she feared that the disappearance of that other part of her was caused by her own stubborn denial and misjudgement.

This was why her most recent discovery was so important. It represented another chance to find what she looked constantly for. An unknown magic, a key to success maybe. A risk, though from her tests she was confident she would be safe. Nobody could ever say Zelda was afraid of confronting danger, but she was also too smart to run in unprepared.

The discovery sat nestled in cloth on a table, a nondescript glass orb, heavy, with something swirling inside. Zelda reached out with her bare hand, watching as the mists inside the orb were drawn towards her fingertips as she placed them onto the glass. The orb was cold, much colder than it should be and Zelda felt a curious sensation of something flowing into her body at the same time as something was expelled out, a freezing and burning sensation all at once, and she was paralysed in place briefly before it all suddenly stopped and left her reeling.

There had been no sound, no flash of light, no other indication of the magic of the orb. Zelda had shut her eyes against the surge of magic and now when she opened them and blinked away the spots across her vision, she realised she was no longer alone.

Zelda gasped and felt frozen in place for an entirely different reason than before. She knew the person before her. She knew their eyes, their face, the shape of their mouth. Their height was the same as hers, and the shape of their body the same as hers too. They looked older than she had last seen them, but she too was older now. They were part of her after all.

“Sheik!”

Zelda’s vision blurred in a way she could not remember it doing before, and she rushed forward and wrapped her arms around Sheik. Sheik who was miraculously, finally, back, though not quite in the way she expected. After so long searching she was reunited with them, and she was very aware she was not behaving in the graceful way she often presented herself. She was just Zelda, who wanted Sheik to stay.

She tightened her hold, her forehead planted against Sheik’s neck, and she felt Sheik finally move, their arms wrapping gently around her. Sheik tilted their head and pressed a delicate kiss into her hair.

“Zelda.”

Sheik pulled back slowly, and Zelda wanted to follow, but she straightened up and met Sheik’s look. Though it had been a long time since Zelda had seen Sheik’s face, they were as familiar as ever, as though time was nothing.

Sheik drew their hands up to Zelda’s face, placing their fingers lightly either side of her head and slowly pulled her face towards them. They kissed her forehead and planted smaller kisses down to the tip of her nose, Zelda’s eyes closing as they did so. Sheik paused a moment and then kissed Zelda’s lips, holding her close. Zelda felt every worry of hers that had formed since Sheik had disappeared leave her.

Sheik moved away just slightly and brushed their thumb along Zelda’s jaw. “We should go on our own adventure.”

“Just us?”

“Yes, just us.”

Zelda smiled, a proper smile, and kissed Sheik again.


End file.
